Katheryn is a programmer by day, writer by night. A lover of all things supernatural and helpless romantic at heart, she spends most of her writing time coming up with stories that incorporate at least one of the two. So far, she’s only published one book and a few short stories, but she intends to publish more work in the future. She lives with her fiancé, Eric, and their puppy, Ada.

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Katheryn J. AvilaI do have a sequel planned, and a very rough first draft of it. Unfortunately writing isn't my full time job so I can't pump it out as fast as I'd…moreI do have a sequel planned, and a very rough first draft of it. Unfortunately writing isn't my full time job so I can't pump it out as fast as I'd like. For reference, Reckoning took me the better part of a decade to get complete. I'm hoping it won't take that long to get its sequel out. Thanks for the question! It gives me renewed drive to know that people still think about Reckoning :)(less)

I'm not usually one for hard sci-fi, but this book sounded pretty intriguing, so I gave it a go. Now I've discovered a whole new story-telling style that I really love. I thought this would be the type of book that drags on forever, that I'd pick upI'm not usually one for hard sci-fi, but this book sounded pretty intriguing, so I gave it a go. Now I've discovered a whole new story-telling style that I really love. I thought this would be the type of book that drags on forever, that I'd pick up and put down, a slow read. Quite the contrary, I found myself devouring it, completely immersed as if I'd actually lived through the events.

The story itself is told in the form of diary entries, transcripts, and interviews. It made for a quick read, since there wasn't any text really dedicated to world building/description that wasn't just natural conversation or internal dialog. The diary entries made the main character - Dahlia - super relatable, as we were privy to her thoughts and emotions as she went through Elevation. It gave the overall story the personal touch that kept me turning pages, wanting to know exactly what happened to her next.

I think part of why it was so immersive, too, was because the book is composed in a way that sort of assumes the reader actually did live through its events(there’s even a fake bibliography for references at the end!). And even though it reads that way, at no point was I confused about what was happening, because the natural progression of the book gave just enough information to keep me in the loop, while also making it feel like I was discovering the events as I went. And though there were points where the author obviously needed to recap or spoon-feed information, it never felt unnatural or like info-dumps. This book is an excellent example of the author trusting the reader and skillfully weaving the world-building in an informational but not dry way.

I'd been dying to read this one since pre-ordering it and I was not disappointed!

The air of mystery and loss is immediate at the start of the book. The story wastes no time in diving into the strange occurrences at Highmoor, and it's not long beforeI'd been dying to read this one since pre-ordering it and I was not disappointed!

The air of mystery and loss is immediate at the start of the book. The story wastes no time in diving into the strange occurrences at Highmoor, and it's not long before Annaleigh takes it upon herself to get to the bottom of things. Though very much the dutiful daughter - and, though not the oldest, clearly the most responsible - she's not beyond rebelling in meaningful ways and going behind her father's back to investigate the deaths of her sisters. As the story progresses, we dive deeper into the lore, and learn how magic is seemingly both a fact of life and its own mystery.

At first I thought this was the type of world where magic and gods were hypotheticals - the kind of things you either believe or don't. But then it becomes obvious that is not the case - the gods are very real and the magic within the story - though misleading at first - exists as well. It makes for a sometimes confusing read, but that honestly only adds to the story and helps us feel Annaleigh's confusion all the more. I won't go too deep into it to avoid spoilers, but this is one of the best mysteries I've read in a while. The twists and turns caught me off-guard almost every time, and that's not something that happens often. There were hints throughout the book, but it was so immersive and well-written that I was too deeply engrossed to notice them until after the fact.

Annaleigh and her sisters are all very well-written, as well. As a writer, I struggle to juggle more than a handful of characters - something the author of this book does with great skill. Every sister - even the dead ones we only hear about through other characters - come across as complete people on their own, unique and fully-developed to the point that they wouldn't be confused with each other. As for the rest of the cast, I was surprised at how invested I was in all the other characters. Every one of them made me feel something from disdain to sympathy and everything in between.

I devoured this book in three days - and I probably would have gotten it done sooner if I didn't force myself to take breaks because I wanted to enjoy it. Needless to say, this one will probably be going in my top ten for the year....more

This is one I picked up on a whim. Lately all my reads have been recommended by my fiance, but this is a rare outlier. Honestly, it was a case of the cover calling out to me. And I'm glad I went with my gut! Turns out, this is a writer I've read befoThis is one I picked up on a whim. Lately all my reads have been recommended by my fiance, but this is a rare outlier. Honestly, it was a case of the cover calling out to me. And I'm glad I went with my gut! Turns out, this is a writer I've read before that I really enjoyed, and I hadn't even realized it until after I finished The Silver Witch and looked up her other works.

The Silver Witch is the story of a woman recovering from tragedy - a year prior to the start of the book, Tilda lost her husband immediately after their honeymoon, and this has left her reluctant to make connections to new people. She puts herself out there, though, when she decides to try to live on her own in the place where they were supposed to start their lives together.

Tilda is a very sympathetic character. I felt a connection with her almost instantly - she's kind and generally soft-spoken, but carries a hidden strength that surprises even her sometimes. It was nice to see a character not fall into a panic when she starts to discover her hidden abilities. And with no one to guide or help her, she takes it upon herself to experiment, to try on her own. There's an understated bravery to her that I really enjoyed, and watching her grow more confident and sure of herself made for a great read. Though she does most of the legwork herself, with the occasional help from the supporting cast, at no point did she feel like a Mary Sue. That's a difficult thing to balance, and speaks volumes of the writer's skill.

The other character whose story runs parallel to Tilda's is Seren, a witch and shaman whose life holds answers for Tilda. Though I enjoyed Tilda's story, I wish we'd had more time with Seren, too. I'd read an entire book just about her - the politics she had to deal with, her upbringing, her magic. The lore of the world was simple enough, but I would have liked to see more of it.

All in all, this was a very fun read, and Paula Brackston is an author I'll definitely be coming back to....more

Disclaimer: I received this book in exchange for an honest review as part of the Xpresso blog tour for its release.

I wasn’t sure what to expect (as is usually the case) when I decided to read this one. Full disclosure: as part of the tour, I also hadDisclaimer: I received this book in exchange for an honest review as part of the Xpresso blog tour for its release.

I wasn’t sure what to expect (as is usually the case) when I decided to read this one. Full disclosure: as part of the tour, I also had to read the previous book in the series, A Bad Breed, in order to fully understand the history between two of the main characters. Honestly, though, I think I probably could have gotten away with just reading The Necromancer’s Bride. The book does a good job of interspersing the lore and background while telling the main story, making for a pretty immersive read. And reading both inevitably made me compare the two as I read. Spoiler alert: I sort of liked the first one better.

The cast of characters was pretty entertaining throughout, though I found myself enjoying almost every other character more than the main one, Anne. Honestly, I liked her better in the previous one than I did in this one. Gabriel, on the other hand, showed a lot of growth. I really didn’t like him at all at the end of A Bad Breed but I liked how he changed after the events of that book into a more rational person, and someone who actually took responsibility for his actions.

My favorite characters, though, were Balthazar and Lucas. Their relationship and banter were the best parts of the book for me. I really didn’t expect to enjoy them as much as I did. The rest of the cast, the Order, were also really fun and their interactions with Anne were some of her best scenes.

All in all, I enjoyed this book. The lore was interesting – I’ve never read a story with necromancers in it – and the story itself was both self-contained but gave a good sense of the larger picture and what we could expect from the rest of the series.

If you’re looking for urban fantasy with a unique lore, check out this series!...more

I'd been dying to read this one since pre-ordering it and I was not disappointed!

The air of mystery and loss is immediate at the start of the book. The story wastes no time in diving into the strange occurrences at Highmoor, and it's not long beforeI'd been dying to read this one since pre-ordering it and I was not disappointed!

The air of mystery and loss is immediate at the start of the book. The story wastes no time in diving into the strange occurrences at Highmoor, and it's not long before Annaleigh takes it upon herself to get to the bottom of things. Though very much the dutiful daughter - and, though not the oldest, clearly the most responsible - she's not beyond rebelling in meaningful ways and going behind her father's back to investigate the deaths of her sisters. As the story progresses, we dive deeper into the lore, and learn how magic is seemingly both a fact of life and its own mystery.

At first I thought this was the type of world where magic and gods were hypotheticals - the kind of things you either believe or don't. But then it becomes obvious that is not the case - the gods are very real and the magic within the story - though misleading at first - exists as well. It makes for a sometimes confusing read, but that honestly only adds to the story and helps us feel Annaleigh's confusion all the more. I won't go too deep into it to avoid spoilers, but this is one of the best mysteries I've read in a while. The twists and turns caught me off-guard almost every time, and that's not something that happens often. There were hints throughout the book, but it was so immersive and well-written that I was too deeply engrossed to notice them until after the fact.

Annaleigh and her sisters are all very well-written, as well. As a writer, I struggle to juggle more than a handful of characters - something the author of this book does with great skill. Every sister - even the dead ones we only hear about through other characters - come across as complete people on their own, unique and fully-developed to the point that they wouldn't be confused with each other. As for the rest of the cast, I was surprised at how invested I was in all the other characters. Every one of them made me feel something from disdain to sympathy and everything in between.

I devoured this book in three days - and I probably would have gotten it done sooner if I didn't force myself to take breaks because I wanted to enjoy it. Needless to say, this one will probably be going in my top ten for the year....more

I'd been dying to read this one since pre-ordering it and I was not disappointed!

The air of mystery and loss is immediate at the start of the book. The story wastes no time in diving into the strange occurrences at Highmoor, and it's not long beforeI'd been dying to read this one since pre-ordering it and I was not disappointed!

The air of mystery and loss is immediate at the start of the book. The story wastes no time in diving into the strange occurrences at Highmoor, and it's not long before Annaleigh takes it upon herself to get to the bottom of things. Though very much the dutiful daughter - and, though not the oldest, clearly the most responsible - she's not beyond rebelling in meaningful ways and going behind her father's back to investigate the deaths of her sisters. As the story progresses, we dive deeper into the lore, and learn how magic is seemingly both a fact of life and its own mystery.

At first I thought this was the type of world where magic and gods were hypotheticals - the kind of things you either believe or don't. But then it becomes obvious that is not the case - the gods are very real and the magic within the story - though misleading at first - exists as well. It makes for a sometimes confusing read, but that honestly only adds to the story and helps us feel Annaleigh's confusion all the more. I won't go too deep into it to avoid spoilers, but this is one of the best mysteries I've read in a while. The twists and turns caught me off-guard almost every time, and that's not something that happens often. There were hints throughout the book, but it was so immersive and well-written that I was too deeply engrossed to notice them until after the fact.

Annaleigh and her sisters are all very well-written, as well. As a writer, I struggle to juggle more than a handful of characters - something the author of this book does with great skill. Every sister - even the dead ones we only hear about through other characters - come across as complete people on their own, unique and fully-developed to the point that they wouldn't be confused with each other. As for the rest of the cast, I was surprised at how invested I was in all the other characters. Every one of them made me feel something from disdain to sympathy and everything in between.

I devoured this book in three days - and I probably would have gotten it done sooner if I didn't force myself to take breaks because I wanted to enjoy it. Needless to say, this one will probably be going in my top ten for the year....more

“The Seven Commandments:Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy.Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend.No animal shall wear clothes.No animal shall sleep in a bed.No animal shall drink alcohol.No animal shall kill any other animal.All animals are equal.”
―
George Orwell,
Animal Farm

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